SHOPPERS' loss has become athletes' gain as a popular sport will take over former Bed Bath & Beyond and Old Navy stores - but what about the customers?

If you're a fan of pickleball, you can now play at your local mall in a move that aims to benefit both players and mall owners.

Aside from department stores and trendy clothing stores, malls need a variety of tenants in order to draw customers inside.

After the Covid-19 pandemic had people held up in their homes for months, consumers are craving activities that keep them active and outside.

Their spending habits have shifted from goods to experiences such as theaters, arcades, and amusement parks.

In response, malls are adding a wider range of tenants from indoor skydiving, axe throwing, bars, and bowling.

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Pickleball has become the fasting growing sport in the US but many backers of the game have found it hard to find spaces to build courts.

The sport combines elements of tennis, badminton, and ping-pong and began in 1965 but gained a large audience during the pandemic.

The number of people playing pickleball grew by 159 percent over three years to 8.9million in 2022, according to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association.

Since then, courts have popped up at recreation centers, hotels, and retirement homes.

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But the rapid popularity has created an issue for public parks and recreation departments, which often have limited space and funds.

Also, many tennis players and neighbors are bothered by the loud noises associated with pickleball and have blocked courts from being developed.

A group called Pickleball America is hoping to take over an 80,000-square-foot anchor space in Stamford, Connecticut in a former two-story Saks Off 5th retail store this summer.

If completed, it will be one of the largest indoor pickleball venues in the country.

The Meadows at Lake Saint Louis, an outdoor mall, is planning to create a pickleball court in the space that once housed Bed Bath & Beyond.

A pickleball court has taken up the space of a former Burlington store in Short Mall in New Jersey.

And an Old Navy location has now become a pickleball club at a New Hampshire mall after the store closed down.

Also, the first Camp Pickle, a chain that offers pickleball space along with food and drinks in a 1940s-era camp culture aesthetic, will open next year in Huntsville, Alabama.

The chain has plans to expand to Atlanta, Dallas, and Minneapolis.

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